Council consultation into nursery closures 'unreasonable', watchdog finds

A local authority has been told to apologise for the shortcomings of its consultation into the attempted closure of five rural nurseries in southern Scotland.

Scottish Borders Council's process was unreasonable and amounted to maladministration, the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman found.

Local parents, who were successful in their campaign to save the nurseries in June last year, said it was a "devastating finding" for the council.

Chief executive David Robertson said the council accepted the findings of the report and would apologise to the complainant.

The council initially planned to mothball Channelkirk, Cockburnspath, Ednam, Walkerburn and Yetholm nurseries for the 2025/26 school year, after hearing they were operating at under 50% capacity.

A campaign to save them attracted the attention of Slow Horses star Jack Lowden, who once attended one of the threatened facilities.

In a post on Instagram he described them as a "vital lifeline for many families".

The council went on to announce a new "innovative" plan to keep them open.

The SPSO report, which has been sent to campaigners, found that:

• Consultees were not given clear information at the beginning of the process about the purpose and scope of the consultation.
• They were not told how their views would influence decisions made on the future of the nurseries.
• The quality of meeting records varied and a report provided to councillors "did not adequately reflect the extent of parent opposition".
• There was no evidence the council considered seeking the views of children affected by the proposals.

It made a series of recommendations, including that they apologise in writing to the complainant for the "unreasonable consultation".

Dr Alice Blackwell, one of the parents affected by the proposals, said the council's education leadership repeatedly asked families to "trust its processes".

"Trust cannot be built on consultation forms, carefully worded reports and assurances that everything is being done properly," she said.

"It has to be earned through openness, evidence and actually listening to people. The SPSO has agreed that standard was not met."

Robertson said the council operates a diverse and complex range of public services but "sometimes we fall short and may make mistakes".

He added: "While the SPSO recognised the challenging circumstances and compressed timescales within which the consultation was undertaken, it concluded that aspects of the planning, conduct and reporting of the consultation fell below the standard that consultees were entitled to expect and we are sorry about that."

The chief executive said they would implement recommendations and of the watchdog.

He added: "While we do accept the shortcomings in the process we followed, it is important to note that all of the five nurseries involved now have arrangements, co-produced with local parents, that have ensured they remain open providing high quality early years learning experiences for children."